Canyon, Randall County
Prior to 1909, volunteers used buckets and homemade ladders to fight fires in Canyon and the surrounding area. The city addressed the need for fire protection by organizing a department and choosing 21 men for duty. The city also obtained a horse-drawn engine with two gasoline-driven pump motors from the Howe Engine Company. Soon, the apparatus was used in 1910 by fire fighters who stopped a blaze at the Victoria, Canyon's largest hotel. Although the hotel burned to the ground, First National Bank and other downtown buildings were saved. The new fire department serviced an immediate area of six hundred square miles, including grass-covered prairies, Palo Duro Canyon, the communities of Canyon, Happy and Umbarger, and nearby rural dwellings. It led to the establishment of Canyon's first system of water works, modernizing the community. Through the years, the department has successfully made adjustments to meet challenges of the area's growth. The establishment of grain elevators, feed yards, and Buffalo Lake Wildlife Refuge, and the passage of trains carrying hazardous materials through Canyon required additional training and equipment. In 1962, the department formed an emergency unit and in 1971, introduced a snorkel unit to fight fires at tall institutional buildings, like those of West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University). In 1973, Canyon Annual Fire Control School opened, providing training to firefighters throughout the Texas Panhandle. Today, the Canyon Fire Department continues to offer personal protection for residents of this community and rural areas, as well as for thousands of visiting students, educators and tourists. (2009)